
Superintendent's Message
Violet Nichols
November 21, 2024
Dear Parents/Guardians and Staff,
As we head off on our break, I want to say how thankful I am for this community, our dedicated staff, our wonderful students, and supportive families. Since the school year started, we have seen strides in our transportation department and early literacy efforts. Our athletes had wonderful seasons, including state championships, and look forward to starting the winter season. We’ve seen students making choices that impact their schools, either in naming a new street or forming a social contract. We’ve welcomed artists and authors, exchange students from Germany and Spain, and celebrated staff achievements. Thank you to everyone who has had a part in seeing our schools and students thrive.
A reminder that there is no school for students next week but Family Conferences will be on Monday the 25th and Tuesday the 26th.
FY26 Budget
The AOE recently released this document on Vermont’s Education Funding System that helps explains the challenges we are facing. At last night’s board meeting, Tim Jarvis and I presented the board with Initial Priorities as we develop the FY26 Budget.
You can read the whole presentation here or watch the meeting here (budget conversation starts at 1:07:50)
What is included here is still under discussion and nothing has been decided yet, but the slides below highlight the approach we are taking, the potential reductions we are facing, and the themes that emerged from the budget feedback survey.
These would be significant reductions and they are hard to face but we must be transparent so there are no surprises come Town Meeting Day.
At the School Board’s next meeting on December 4, we will present the initial budget recommendation and hold a community forum regarding the budget. The meeting starts at 6 pm and you can attend in person at 577 Dorset Street or via Zoom.
Here is the schedule for board meetings in the coming months and when the budget will be presented:
November 20: Review of priorities and approach to FY26 Budget
December 4: Initial FY26 Budget presentation AND Community Budget Forum
December 18: Second presentation of FY26 Budget
January 8: Third presentation of FY26 Budget/ Final date for school board to adopt FY26 budget
January 15: Budget conversations
January 22: Budget conversations
February 5: Budget conversations
February 19: Budget conversations
March 3: Pre-Town Meeting and Public Hearing of City and School District Budget (This meeting will be at City Hall)
March 4: TOWN MEETING DAY
Please continue to visit the Budget FY26 page on our website for additional budget information as we will update regularly over the coming months.
The Vermont Agency of Education will be hosting a Listen and Learn Tour, some sessions for educators only and others for the public to participate in community conversations to inform how the Agency delivers services and supports to Vermont’s education system.
These public engagement sessions will help the Agency develop its strategic plan and ensure that its work is supporting the educational priorities of communities across Vermont.
Each public engagement session will take place from 6:00 pm. to 8:00 pm at the below locations.
December 3 King Street Center, 87 King St, Burlington, Vermont
December 3 Brattleboro Union High School, 131 Fairground Rd, Brattleboro, Vermont
December 4 Champlain Valley Union High School, 369 C V U Rd, Hinesburg, Vermont
December 10 Virtual Meeting (Please register to receive meeting link)
Each public engagement session will take place from 6:00 pm. to 8:00 pm at the below locations.
Please check the Listen and Learn webpage to see the most up to date public engagement schedules, links for virtual sessions, information on language accessibility, and childcare availability. While not required, pre-registration is encouraged using the online registration form, Listen and Learn Registration. Please email aoe.publicinformation@vermont.gov with questions.
On Tuesday, December 3rd, the district will be hosting a session for educators only from 3:30 pm-5 pm at 577 Dorset Street in advance of the public session at the King Street Center in Burlington.
School Board Vacancy
The Board is extending the board application deadline to Monday, December 2nd, with interviews taking place during the December 4th meeting. Please send the application to Meg Collins at mcollins@sbschools.net by noon on Monday, December 2nd.
Panorama Surveys
We thank you and your family for being our valued partners as we work together with each and every student. As you may already be aware, building our social-emotional learning skills is an important goal for our schools. Over the next several weeks, students and staff will be asked to reflect on their experiences in school in online surveys with our tool, Panorama.
Additionally, to better understand the needs of our community at large, we are asking families to also participate. From November 11th-27th families can respond to a survey about you and your students’ experience with school. This 15-20 minute online survey will help inform us on a systemic and individual school level of how to best support students and families socially and emotionally.
How can I access the survey?
Below is the survey link. Please fill out one survey for each building your student attends. For example, if you have two students at Orchard, just fill Orchard out one time. If you have one student at Orchard and one at the High School, please fill in both Orchard and the High School.
I have multiple children who are enrolled in the South Burlington School District. Do I have to take multiple surveys?
If you have students in multiple buildings, we ask that you fill in multiple surveys to capture the unique experiences of each school.
Gertrude Chamberlin School Survey
Rick Marcotte Central School Survey
Fredrick H. Tuttle Middle School Survey
South Burlington High School Survey
What if I don’t want to take the survey?
If you choose not to take the survey, no need to respond to the link via email.
Is the survey anonymous?
Yes, the family survey is anonymous meaning that there is no way to identify what you responded to in the survey.
Who can I reach out to with questions?
You are welcome to contact your students’ building administrator.
When will I (as a caregiver) be able to see the results of the survey?
After our Fall survey window closes, the data from this survey will be available on the District website, in the Office of Equity section.
What will happen as a result of the survey (what will you do with the data you collect)?
The information collected from the survey will be used to better understand the needs and experiences of students, staff and families within our district. This data will help the district:
* Identifying strengths and areas for improvement across the schools, and collectively as a District.
* Develop targeted strategies to support the social-emotional needs of students, staff and families.
* Help inform planning at both the district and individual school levels.
* Information collected will be used to help support the professional development of staff in order to best support students, families and staff.
This is internal data that will be reviewed with staff in a way that ensures confidentiality and will guide our efforts to create a more supportive and inclusive school environment for all students, staff and families. This will be one measure of many indicators we use to better understand feelings of climate, belonging, growth, and safety.
Transportation Update from Operations Director, Jean-Marie Clark
We are excited to welcome more newly licensed drivers to the transportation team. Since our last update Peggy Russin, Jeff Verannos, Rick Cota, David Hilbich and Talan Bryant have gotten their bus driver licenses. We are so grateful to Brice Goldsborough and Jeff Spengler who have spent so much time working with our new team members to train and support them to licensure.
Please be aware that we will be working on adjusting some of our routes over the next week. We will send updates to families that have new arrival or departure times. We anticipate that any changes will only slight adjustment times, nothing too drastic! We are excited to get all our students to all their assigned locations in a smooth and timely manner.
Again we extend our thanks to the families and staff members who have been with us on this very long journey of limited transportation services. Your patience, flexibility and support have not gone unnoticed!
Visit our Transportation Update page for up to date information.
For questions and concerns about transportation, please contact Stephanie Hyatt, Transportation Dispatcher. Stephanie is the point of contact for families with questions about transportation in-the-moment. She can be reached at 802-233-0673. You can also call the bus garage at 802-652-7479. For general questions, please reach out to Jean-Marie Clark, Operations Director, at jclark@sbschools.net.
Employment Opportunities
The district is hiring! Please follow the links to read the full descriptions for these roles.
Senior Director of Human Resources
Grant Coordinator and Administrative Assistant for Educational Support Systems
Bus Drivers (and Bus Aides)
Training available obtain Commercial Driver's Licenses to eligible candidates, full and part time positions available as well as van drivers and bus monitors
Full job descriptions are available on School Spring. If you have questions on hiring processes or on employment, please contact Karen Dantzscher (kdantzscher@sbchools.net) at (802) 652-7256.
District Calendar
Enjoy the break and thank you for reading! I will be back with my next newsletter on December 12th.
Violet
For information about each school please visit our website or download our app. If you are new to the district or haven’t had a chance to explore, the website is the best place to find all the information on the district and your students' schools. You can also follow us on social media: @SBSchoolsVT on Twitter, @southburlingtonschoolDistrict on Instagram and on Facebook.
SBSD App
Along with the website, the dedicated app will be your best resource for updated menus, schedules and other important information in the event of school closures and delays.
Download the SBSD app (Apple and Google) to stay up to date on events and announcements (or scan the QR code )!
Stay in the loop with our Live Feed
- Access breakfast and lunch menus
- Get your daily dose of news
- Stay updated with the events calendar
- Connect with our staff directory
- Receive important notifications, like school closures
The South Burlington School District is on Social Media! Please follow us for updates and District happenings: